1. Field of Invention
This application relates to protective screens for trucks, specifically for the protection of the exterior side walls of pickup trucks an the like
2. Description of Prior Art
The pickup truck has long been the backbone of the light truck industry and has become the personal transportation vehicle for many owners. Tradesmen take a lot of pride in keeping their pickup in good shape. One of the problems is keeping the pickup body free from nicks and scratches caused by belt buckles and tool belts when taking tools and equipment in and out of tool boxes or the truck bed. Owners are looking for a better way to maintain the appearance and value of their truck.
Inventors have created several types of protective covers most of which protect the bed of the truck. U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,921 to Hall (1998) discloses a retractable cover to protect the goods being transported from the weather. Others have panels or coverings that protect the sides, most of which are cumbersome to use and difficult to store and not attractive in appearance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,099 to Favata (1997) discloses pads that have to be attached to the sides of the truck by the use of straps. This method requires a place to store the pads when not in use. This method is cumbersome and not very efficient.
Several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) To provide a functional and ornamental protective covering for the side wall panels.
(b) To provide an easy to use and store protective covering.
(c) To provide a covering that can have written messages applied to.
(d) To keep the appearance of the vehicle looking new during all types of working conditions.
The concept of Protective Cover for the Sides of a Vehicle is to provide a protective covering for the outer bed wall of a truck. Retractable covering would enable owners to work with tools, equipment without fear of scratching or damaging painted finish of a truck. This product consists of a retractable screen having an outer layer of shock absorbing material suitable to receive signage and a rear layer of non abrasive material that can be placed on the surface of a truck without scratching the finish. This is contained in a strong non rusting protective housing that mounts on the top of the side bed wall. The length of protective housing and screen would be of sufficient size to cover length of a truck side bed wall.